If you buy something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an affiliate commission.

Milwaukee is expanding their outdoor power tool lineup with a new modular tool head system, dubbed Quik-Lok.

The new Milwaukee Quik-Lok multi-head power tool system is powered by their M18 Fuel cordless battery platform. There is a power unit, powered by an M18 Fuel brushless motor, and interchangeable tool attachments that are swapped for different tasks. This means you get the capabilities of several tools at a lower cost and with less to store than with dedicated tools.

Advertisement

The system will be launching with 4 separate tools and an extension.

String Trimmer

14″ to 16″ cutting swath

.080/0.095″ line diameter

Available as a kit (2825-21ST) for $329

Available as a bare tool (2825-20ST) for $229

Available as an attachment (49-16-2717) for $109

Pole Saw

10″ bar length

80″ length

Available as a kit (2825-21PS) for $399

Available as an attachment (49-16-2720) for $164

Edger

8″ blade size

38″ length

Available as an attachment (49-16-2718) for $109

Articulating Hedge Trimmer

20″ blade length

1″ cut capacity

60″ length

13 operating positions

Available as an attachment (49-16-2719) for $164

3′ Attachment Extension (49-16-2721) for $54

The extension is included in the pole saw kit, but can be purchased separately for use with the hedge trimmer and pole saw attachment.

The kits come with the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Quik-Lok power head, the specified attachment (string trimmer or pole saw with extension), a multi-voltage rapid charger, and (1) HD 9.0Ah battery. The pole saw kit is also said to include a shoulder strap.

A shoulder strap (49-16-2722) will be available separately, for $20, and a replacement 10″ pole saw chain (49-16-2723) will also be available, for $18.

ETA: February 2019

First Thoughts

What’s not to like?

Press materials summed up the benefits of the system:

Plus, the ability to switch out multiple attachments based on the application will make jobs quicker, easier, and more cost-effective.

This is a huge breakthrough for users who are frustrated with gas solutions or investing in multiple battery platforms to use higher voltage options.

They also say:

The System also achieves instantaneous throttle response while being up to 2 pounds lighter than the other options on the market.

And that it:

Delivers best-in-class power and run-time for landscaping and trade professionals.

I know a lot of you have been asking for something just like this. What do you think?

Raise your hand if you’re going to buy this in time for Spring.

Or, if you’re not a Milwaukee M18 cordless tool user, do you wish that these tools came out in your brand’s color instead?

I’m definitely in for this. I’m already on the M18 platform, and my yards aren’t big but have trees and shrubbery to maintain. Battery power would be perfect for what I need and the systems modules make storing it an attractive feature.

Based on quick math, it looks like $840 for the entire system (trimmer kit with all attachments, strap, and extension). For that price, they can keep it, though I appreciate their effort. I’ve amassed separate tools for everything this system does:
DeWalt string trimmer kit: $145
DeWalt hedge trimmer bare tool: $116
Ryobi pole saw (with extension and strap): $99 with 2-3Ah battery starter kit (technically, the tool was free)
Ryobi edger bare tool: $59

While the DeWalt hedge trimmer lacks the reach and articulation of the Milwaukee, I can live with it.

That said, if Milwaukee were my primary brand, and especially if I didn’t already own these types of tools, I would absolutely consider the Quik-Lol system. It seems to be innovative, at least for a cordless system that primarily makes non-OPE tools, and the 9Ah battery included in the kits is much larger than the 5Ah DeWalt or two 3Ah Ryobis I got with my versions.

I was looking at the same aspect – though I understand the prices to be MSRP, so maybe the price the consumer ends up paying in-store will make this look more attractive.

E.g. I just quickly checked some prices at Home Depot:

– Dewalt string trimmer kit is $200 versus $329 for the Milwaukee.

– a Dewalt hedge-trimmer and string trimmer combo kit (with 5.0 ah battery) for $329. Compare this to $493 for the string trimmer kit and hedge attachment from Milwaukee.

Maybe things start to even out if you are buying all of the tools?

However, if the retail/sale prices are lower, the Milwaukee could look pretty good. I could see it being the sort of thing where kits go on sale for $299 and attachments for $99 – then it starts to look a bit more attractive.

To answer the question Stuart posed – yes, I do wish this came out in one of my platforms (Dewalt, Bosch or Porter Cable). At the price point though, I’m not sure I would choose this “system” over just buying all the tools individually from Dewalt. Maybe if they turn out to be better/more powerful or if it were important to a particular buyer to use less storage space?

You need to compare comparable models. The DeWalt you mentioned is 20v, only has 13″ cut width, 5ah battery, and wont handle .95 line. While adequate, it won’t do nearly what a 40v or 60v DW or 18v Milwaukee will do.

1. I hope that they have solved the M18 power head over heating issue. I can only get about 20 minutes of trimming time before my M18 string trimmer overheats, will not start until it cools down.
2. No brush cutter blade.
3. Yet another couple shaft version. At least the Ryobi 40V uses Trimmer Plus(r).
4. Mikita x2 uses a different couple shaft but at least you also get: 4 cycle power head option, brush cutter, cultivator.
Last spring my Ryobi 40V with a Trimmer Plus(r) cultivator was really nice for seed bed preparation – till-up a row to plant potatoes or garlic. Instant start meant I could till, stop to plant or clear the tines, then no pull to start again. The Ryobi has the power to till our heavy clay, or the hard packed yard waste pile.

You may want to contact Milwaukee – I’ve got the Fuel string trimmer and have run it for hours straight cleaning up fence lines without issue (no shutdowns).

I doubt we’ll see a battery powered tool that has a worthwhile brush cutter any time soon; I know that Stihl sells a grass blade battery machine but for the heavy stuff it just doesn’t seem practical to have a battery – even smaller gas engines get bogged down. Fingers crossed, however, for an M18 tool with a blade that can mow down saplings and overgrown brush!

I have a Lowes 80V string trimmer (Greenworks 80V clone) which has swap-able tool heads, and I’ve run a brush cutter head on it, and it works great. The most I’ve done is my rear property line, which is 172′ in length and I worked 6-8′ deep. Most of this was 8 year old overgrown upstate NY field (brush about 4ft tall), with lots of small woody vegetation and even some 3/4-1″ diameter saplings. Done in a couple hours, swapped batteries once or twice.

Make sure you have turned the cutoff blade around to make the line length longer. Its reversible and default ships in the “short” length position. You may also want to make sure you got the stock with the new “Easy Load” head as all the current ones now ship with it:

Unless you have all 18v, you can get Dewalt OPE in 20v, 40v, or 60v. I have 20v trimmmer and blower and 40v chainsaw and hedge trimmer. All work great for my smaller yard. The chainsaw will cut down and cut up a smaller tree in one battery. Ive upgraded all my batteries to the largest available for longer run time.

Mutombo, i feel the same way. I’m a (20v and 60v) Dewalt man with ryobi 40v yard tools and don’t won’t to switch them to red. But been very tempted with all the new Milwaukee stuff that keeps going on sale at home D though. But Not impressed by this power head because it’s limited by their brand only attachments, and Gene, I to would be like to see that nice Dewalt in 60v 4 wheel edger ASAP.

The HOA takes care of the outside in Florida
I have landscapers at the 2 other places to do the heavy work.
My wife putters around with a combination of M18, Makita, Greenworks and Ryobi at our primary residence. My older gasoline-engine-powered OPE comes out only when my wife forces me into it to do something the landscaper’s missed or messed up – and doing it is beyond the scope of her battery-powered stuff (like tilling 24 raised beds)

I’m in on this 100%, but I’ll wait for some kind of promo… buy the kit, get a free attachment… or something (hopefully, they usually do pretty soon after release). Glad to see they haven’t given up on their OPE line. Hope to see a mower soon.

Dont really agree that it provides any cost savings. The first gen M18 hedge trimmer was $169 and just the head for the new system is $179. $179 for the pole saw head is expensive, there are many electric or battery pole saws around the $100 area.

Kinda upset my existing M18 string trimmer is obsolete now after 2 years and will not have any expandability.

This is what they should of done 2 years ago!

Sure many of us will get the new system, but even as a Milwaukee addict I think the price is going to throw a lot of people off to other brands.

I have a feeling some of the pricing is due to tariffs. They wouldn’t want to tag it with a lower price, then have to raise it later on, like they did with new tools that we’re released last year that we’re bundled with 12ah HO batteries. Those we’re supposed to go to $450 during the holidays, though some tools still went up like the new M12 stubbies.

On that, Acme tools has the new 2017 tools available as bare tools now. $250 for the super sawzall & circular, $300 for the chainsaw, $450 for table saw.

Prices for the attachments seem to be on par with the EGO, who is probably the most direct competitor for something like this.

I’ve said it before and I’ll repeat it again: Milwaukee needs a lawnmower. As it’s likely to be both the most used and most expensive part of an OPE investment, it makes sense to bias a purchasing decision towards whatever platform/line has the best mower. Right now, that’s EGO. Dewalt’s mower was largely disappointing, and Milwaukee isn’t even in the race.

If Milwaukee had a compelling mower option, it’d make it a lot easier to get people to buy into the line. It’s sort of the equivalent of not offering ANY impact driver in your 18V tool line, even if all your other tools are great. It doesn’t have to be head and shoulders above the competition, but you need something in that space.

Dewalts mower is not disappointing, the only complaint was the runtime using the two 5ah batteries sent with it…
….the mower itself is a beast and as good as the 40v . One must buy larger batteries to use larger tools. Get the 9ah or 12ah batteries for the mower and be the envy of everyone.

I got the M18 Fuel String Trimmer and I absolutely love it. Its actually made trimming fun believe it or not and I actually love using it. I kinda feel a little bad I shoulda maybe waited for this to come because I would jump on that edger. Maybe they’ll come with a stand alone unit hopefully.

I am happy to see these type of developments, but as someone who only has to landscape 1 small property I cannot see how these would be worth the cost vs my current setup (ryobi 18v trimmer and edger that I got for $25 each on clearance.) or even vs the ego 56v multi head system, which has very high reviews, is cheaper, and ego also makes a mower.

I really don’t understand why there are not more modular systems like this, especially when it comes to battery powered tools where you can put the motor on the cutter side and just use the center pole as a glorified piece of conduit. What I really dream of is more third parties to come out with battery adapters like this milwaukee to ryobi one https://www.amazon.com/Ryobi-Milwaukee-Battery-Adapter-Surebonder/dp/B075SLPC6D so that I could easily pick tools without having to have multiple batteries.

The EGO system is very nice if the only thing you need is OPE. Like most holiday drill sets, EGO seems to have a few kits that make the tool almost free. Their batteries are so expensive. Which makes me nervous about needing to replace them. The EGO 5ah battery is $220. A M18 12ah is $200, a pair of Makita 5ah is $160, a Flexvolt 9ah is $200. You’ll also only find EGO at HD whereas the other brands can be found all over, which means you can find better deals. For instance, the Milwaukee HO 12ah is on amazon for $140.

Plus all the other brands can use the $200 battery in most other tools. It lowers the overall cost of buying tools and means you can spend more on bare tools to get ones that last.

While batteries are an expensive part of the cordless phenomenon, you often need to break it down to the cost per unit of energy in order to get a better understanding of just what you are getting for all that cost.

Milwaukee is my main but not my only tool brand. I love this idea as I dont want a dedicated edger but the attachement makes it attractive. The problem I have is that they didnt offer a bare tool option for each attachment. I already have an M18 string trimmer and I don’t need a pole saw, so I would essentially have to buy something I dont need (pole saw) or already have (m18 trimmer) in order to get what I want (edger). Now if Milwaukee will do a buy the pole saw get an attachment of your choice free then I might bite the bullet and buy in but until then forget it.

Doesn’t sound like you have actually used the M18 equipment. All but one of the existing Milwaukee outdoor equipment has had more than enough power for me, including chainsaw, string trimmer, hedge trimmer. The only exception, and is most companies, is the blower. I’ve also never heard anyone complain about them that have actually used them. That I do wish had a X2 option, or rather a backpack unit preferably.

Depends what you’re doing. Try one of the 36v chain saws vs 18 on 8” live juniper trees, or try cutting down rabbit brush with an 18 vs 36v hedge trimmer: it’s a world of difference. If your garden work is ‘garden variety’ then 18v might do but if you’re dealing with larger and tougher items it is actually important.

Honestly for the money pick up the Stihl Kombi system (gas powered) or equivalent from your normal professional grade folks. The tools above are junk (I’m will to take bets on the average lifetime) and along with the fact a battery system will not last long enough, are hardly worth the expense. For such a system, serious thought needs to go into each tool and the power-head, otherwise you have a throw away $2,000.00 system that is worthless once the battery support goes away.. after how many year?. I am a big fan of battery powered tools, but after owning a home for 5 years I am glad I invested in high quality two stroke equipment including the stihl KOMBI. Why? Well 5 years from now my tools and power-head will still work without special consideration to the batteries along with the fact parts are an order of magnitude cheaper than batteries. Additionally, my amortized cost will be lower still each additional year I utilize a more conventional tool-set. Hence why these look excellent on a website or simple calculation, I will keep my more expensive yet conventional tools for their outsized repair-ability.

That’s a valid consideration. Gas still often blows battery-powered tools like these away in a performance to cost comparison… But there’s other factors.

E.g. I know there’s cheaper gas saws that can easily match my flexvolt chainsaw – especially once you factor in additional batteries for more runtime. However, I don’t have to buy or mix gas, winterize it and most importantly for me – it’s just more pleasant to use when I can start/stop it quickly, don’t need to pull start it and it’s quiet.

Single tool comparison battery often wins, its when the capital investment (which systems like this in my mind are classified as a capital expense) gas wins due to longevity. My main consideration with lawn equipment is how long I have to work with a piece of equipment for the investment to pay off. Inexpensive cordless hedge trimmer vs. $300.00 Stihl HS45… the Stihl will loose for almost every use case. But, will that same battery hedge trimmer last 20 years? Probably not. Hence why if you have a more consistent or heavy usage any battery system is likely a more wasteful for lawn care.

Canned fuel has revolutionized the life and maintainence of my various engines which greatly colors my opinion. That being said, 10 years for an average homeowner might make the investment worth it. I’m cynical due to how poorly most of these pieces of equipment are made even with their inherent simplicity. This discussion in another 5 years ought to be illuminating.

I don’t think paying $22 a gallon for fuel is the answer (lowest price I saw was $5.50 at Walmart). While it is essentially the purest you can feed your equipment, and even if many 2-cycle aren’t fuel hogs, that can really add up. So much so, you could just buy new equipment with the savings.

For any of our 2-cycle stuff left, I use Star-tron to minimize the ethanol, and has done wonders. Now, I usually try to grab mine on eBay with a coupon in a large enough size to really drive the cost down, but far cheaper & very close in effectiveness to canned fuel. Other option is to buy recreation gas (but can be hard to come by).

I’ve used similar gas systems by Poulan and Ryobi. The Ryobi has a 4-cycle engine and I like it a lot. The Poulan is 2-cycle and lacked many of the nice features of the Ryobi. But I mostly just use the string trimmer and don’t like the heavy engine for the pole saw, as well as the hedge trimmer, so hopefully the cordless version is much lighter.

Makita beat Milwaukee months ago with their Couple Shaft Powerhead attachment. Without a doubt, Makita has the edge over Milwaukee, as Team has decades of research and development invested in outdoor equipment. Personally, they haven’t let me down yet with my X2 string trimmer, chainsaw, and blower. For which, all have exceeded my expectations, when it comes to power, runtime, and durability.
Milwaukee owns the job site lighting and plumbing categories, but Makita and DeWalt would be my go to brands for outdoor power equipment

So – these are essentially the same tools as the Ego line, but in Red, right ?

If I hadn’t bought these same tools from Ego this past summer – I’d have gone out and bought the Red ones instead for the upcoming season so that I’d have more Red batteries and chargers to use and rely on – since the Ego batteries are so expensive and I can’t use them with anything other than other Ego OPE tools…

I picked up a bunch of new Red tools during all the winter sales – so, I have a lot more red now than I had last year. So – while I was more interested in getting more Ego items for last summer – that’s change now that I have so many other Red tools and batteries (2x 12ah; 2x 5ah, 1x 2ah)…

I picked up all my Ego tools when they were available during deals, and I have 2x 5ah and 1x 2.5ah. They work – the batteries charge fast – and I can charge one faster than I run out the two in the tools…

Eh, my Black & Deckers work fine and I have enough batteries to last all day. With the deals I’ve gotten, I couldn’t have spent more than $300 on the six tools I own. Plus when one motor eventually goes bad it won’t take out every tool I own.

Not dumping my Ryobi system for this. In fact, for this price I wouldn’t buy it even if I didn’t already have the Ryobi system. The only people this would make sense for are professional landscapers and even then it would have to last a loooong time to be worth the investment. If Ryobi offered it for a slight increase I might buy into it. The interchangeable system is just a nice to have for me.

Kind of this, but I doubt this stuff is heavy duty enough for daily landscaper use. If these had come out a couple years ago and I was already on the M18 platform I’d have given it a look, but the 2 tools I’m interested in (string trimmer and pole saw) are already in my shed in Ryobi versions and for as much as I use them it’ll probably be 4-5 years before I’m in the market for replacements…nowadays if I use a tool enough to break it and red makes it that’s my first option, but it’s nice having an armada of batteries for the green stuff I only need a handful of times a year.

My thoughts exactly. It makes sense for a lawn crew to have one, as they have multiple workers & handle more professional properties usually. For a home owner, they seem like an unnecessary tool if you have a string trimmer.

A majority of driveways around my area are asphalt, so you aren’t even supposed to be using an edger there. I caught our lawn crew at the seasons end trying to bill us $8 every other week for “professional edging,” when earlier that year I asked one of the guys why he was using a weed wacker (already knowing why, but there were a few spots he could have used an edger).

Anyone question if this new system will work with the existing Milwaukee M18 string trimer? IE can us owners of the 1st gen string trimmer use any of the attachments or are we suppose to ditch our 1st gen trimmer in favor of this version?

Exactly! Not to mention it’s actually cheaper than Milwaukee Fuel OPE. Milwaukee has taken their 18V platform about as far as it can go with current battery tech. They won’t be improving much from here until something better than Lithium Ion battery cells are cheap and available.

Ego still has TONS of room to grow as far as power and run time are concerned.

Some years ago, I got suckered into a similar philosophy with a Black and Decker drill, sander, screwdriver, etc, kit. I’m not making comparisons between the Black and Decker and the Milwaukee brands, which is apples to oranges. My feelings are related to the concept alone.

The modular thing seems to make sense when in the cognitive stage of the purchase. It’s in the area of practical application where they tend to fail in my book. Although again, a totally different level of quality between the 2 brands, my experience was that the concept was vastly better than the real world application. The weakness tends to be in the interface between the control portion and the added “accessory.” By the time you purchase all of the necessary accessories to bring the concept to the level of it’s intention, it usually doesn’t live up to the specs and potential of most dedicated tools with the same function. In addition, the power unit portion of the system is used continuously with every accessory, so ends up with substantially greater usage overall than the accessories individually. There’s no consistency across the board with regard to wear and tear.

I came to the realization that if I needed a drill, sander, whatever, I needed a dedicated tool that focused on that intended function. These concepts don’t tend to do any one function exceedingly well next to any comparable dedicated alternative. They almost don’t have a selling point from the standpoint of marketing that makes them attractive aside from being slightly more storage friendly. They will also often flat out dollar you to death in the long run. It seems like the things we usually go back to are the things we should’ve stuck with from the beginning. That’s where these types of things usually leave me.

Milwaukee Tool fan all the way. Just bought the M18 trimmer, and returned it (new) a week later and ordered everything except the hedge trimmer. I bought it as “tool only” trimmer and the rest of the attachments seperate, as I have several batteries and chargers already.
I did pick up a new HD 12.0 battery from eBay for $119. Packaging was a little worn.
I’m just wondering if I could connect 2 extensions for light tree trimming…